


Holiday Bookworms

by Fire_Bear



Series: Walking in a Winter Wonderland [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Books, Christmas, Libraries, M/M, Omega Verse, Snow, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-14 23:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13018137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Arthur has to work over the holiday period alongside a fellow student librarian whom he's never really spoken to before. With their supervisor called away to deal with a family emergency and a storm raging outside, he finds himself having to speak with the alpha...





	Holiday Bookworms

**Author's Note:**

> I was talking to someone who mentioned omegaverse stuff and I just went, "Ooh, let's do that."

Despite the finish of lectures, the absence of exams and the fact that everyone had gone home for the holidays, Arthur found himself having to work in the university's library during the last week before Christmas. Thankfully, his family lived nearby so he could return home on Christmas Eve, even if there were disruptions to the public transport systems. Besides, he'd be amongst books and those were his favourite things in the world.

The only thing making him cautiously enter the building with a flick of his snow-covered umbrella was the fact that he wouldn't be alone. One of the other students who worked in the library, Ivan, was apparently going to be working with him up until the end of the week. Neither of them had really spoken before as Ivan was usually in the Languages department and Arthur was in Literature. They had passed each other by before and Arthur always caught a whiff of his alpha scent: cinnamon, mild coffee, heated caramel and the crisp smell of snow. Arthur liked his scent but had never bothered to indulge his omega instincts to take those thoughts any further.

Over the past couple of days, though, they had diligently worked on the huge workload of returns and restocking and tidying. It had been a little hectic and afforded little time for talking. However, since they had managed to finish that workload the night before, they had no excuse not to talk today. Unfortunately, Arthur didn't know what to say to the man. Nobody he knew had anything to say on the matter of Ivan and what his interests were. Those who had come across him before only said he was 'scary' or 'weird' – but they said that about Arthur, as well, so it wasn't really useful information.

From the days he had already worked with him, Arthur had decided that Ivan was a little intimidating. Or a lot. Not in a way that made him feel scared but that made him see why people wouldn't be too keen on the alpha. Perhaps it was because he hadn't spoken, only loomed over Arthur as they worked. That likely wasn't his fault: Ivan was huge, both tall and broad, practically the epitome of an alpha if he ever wore anything other than his turtleneck sweaters and scarves. It was hard not to be uneasy when it was clear the man could break his neck if he wanted to – with one hand.

But he was also quite kind. Arthur had noted his sweet smile as he worked, eager to please. He always rushed off to do what Arthur asked of him right away, so eager that Arthur was surprised he wasn't wagging a tail. His facial features were soft, his almost permanently upturned lips lighting up his grey eyes. Soft-looking, pale hair was always combed neatly, as opposed to Arthur's mess. That always made Arthur pout at himself in the mirror on the days he was with him, willing his hair to sit flat and look professional for a change.

Most of all, though, his scent had been pulsing around Arthur while they worked and eased Arthur's stress, coming and going in waves. Arthur had been questioning his nose, wondering just why Ivan would be trying to calm him when he didn't know the omega. To Arthur, it was a slightly off-putting when he noticed what was happening, which was why he was vaguely hoping that Ivan would have called in sick.

No such luck.

As soon as Arthur entered through the revolving door, he could smell Ivan's scent, soured a little from worry. Now, the smell of spoiled milk encompassed the other scents. It made Arthur concerned as well, wondering what could possibly be upsetting the alpha. Glancing around, Arthur spotted him standing by the desk, keys dangling from one hand a sheet of paper clutched in the other. He was frowning at them until he heard Arthur's footsteps and looked up, smiling at him in an obvious attempt to put him at ease. Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that.

"Good morning," Ivan said.

"Good morning," Arthur replied. "What's wrong? Where's Mrs. Campbell?"

"Ah. That's..." Ivan raised his hands slightly as if to draw attention to the items he held in his hands. "You just missed her. Apparently, her son slipped in the snow and landed awkwardly. He's been rushed to hospital and she went to meet him there. We've been given instructions...?"

"What, really?" said Arthur, alarmed. "That's a shame. I hope her son's all right."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," said Ivan, a little dismissively. He held out the piece of paper. "I can't make out her writing."

Nodding, Arthur closed the distance and took the piece of paper. He ignored the brief touch of their fingers as he did so. Once he'd scanned the writing several times, he looked up at Ivan who was watching him intently. "It looks as though there's not much to do. There's some books to be reshelved and some new books have come in. But, after that, it's just helping whoever needs it." Arthur paused to look around the ground floor, where most students would be found on the vast amount of computers and using the multiple printers and photocopiers. No-one but Ivan could be seen and, when he sniffed experimentally, all he could smell was Ivan's pleasant scent, the worry gone. "Though," he said, "it looks as if no-one's here. And it's still snowing – I doubt anyone will come in."

"Should we close up?" Ivan suggested.

"No, no," said Arthur, waving a hand dismissively. "It's not _that_ bad. And the PhD students _might_ come in. We're already closing earlier because of the holidays so we may as well get some work done while it's not busy. There'll be less interruptions that way."

"Okay," said Ivan, smiling widely.

Arthur ducked his head a little when he noticed Ivan's genial expression directed at him. "Let's, uh... Let's get started."

* * *

They separated to deal with their individual tasks, Arthur dealing with the organisation of the books while Ivan wandered the aisles to place the books on their shelves. Had there been more people or Arthur had been alone, he would have gone through the library himself to put things away. Ivan seemed happy to help, however, and, since he was much taller and could reach the higher shelves easier, Arthur relented and allowed him to take on the task. So Arthur stayed at the front desk, watching the snow through the windows and waiting for someone to turn up.

Two hours into their five hour shift, the revolving door began to slowly spin due to the wind picking up. Arthur frowned at it, wondering whether it would be a good idea to lock that door to stop the cold getting in. Finishing off his task, he turned to the computer and looked up the weather forecast. According to the sites he looked at, there was nothing to worry about. Then again, the sites didn't have their location marked and he had to go by what the nearest location said. And they had been known to be wrong.

The door revolved slowly, the whipping noise of its passage almost mocking him.

Fifteen minutes later, Arthur was rushing to the doors, the force of the blizzard making the revolving door spin with such ferocity that the snow was drifting in to settle on the floor. The other doors were flapping about. Fumbling with the key, he managed to lock the revolving door in position but he couldn't get the other doors to shut. There was a shout from behind him. He didn't bother turning around to call back.

"Help me!" he cried as the door slammed into his shoulder again. He winced but managed to push one of them over.

There was a flash of movement and, suddenly, both doors were shut. Marvelling at Ivan's strength, Arthur was quick to stick the key in and lock it. Then, both of them taking a deep, relieved breath, they stepped back. Both doors rattled and Arthur took another step back, worried that the wind was going to rip the doors off their hinges.

"We should put the shutter down," Ivan told him.

Arthur looked at his watch. "But-" he began. Ivan cut him off.

"The wind could force the doors open and break the locks," Ivan pointed out. "And then we won't be able to shut them."

Grimacing, Arthur hesitated for a moment longer, eyeing the doors and what he could see of the weather outside. "Fine. Let me put up a sign, though."

"No-one's going to see it," Ivan said, as bluntly as before.

"It will make me feel better," said Arthur shortly before he darted back to the desk to fetch a pen and paper. He scribbled a quick apology and found the Sellotape to stick it up. Once done, Ivan helped him with the shutter which, though electric, always got stuck every few feet. After that, they stepped back and stared at it. The shutter rattled from the wind blowing through the cracks. Arthur grimaced and stepped back again.

"Let's go sit down," Ivan said. Arthur looked over at him and saw his nostrils flare. "And we can have something to eat."

"Don't do that," Arthur snapped, eyes narrowed. Alphas dictating what an omega needed from their scent annoyed him. Mainly due to how intimate that act was perceived as. Besides, it also made it hard to work if he noticed his own discomfort. Sure enough, his stomach rumbled now that his hunger had been mentioned.

"Ah. Sorry. Would you like to eat?" Ivan said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm hungry."

"Fine," Arthur agreed with a put upon sigh. "We should go to the staff room."

"Why don't we eat here?" Ivan suggested. "The staff room's been cold recently – I think the heater's broken."

"We can't eat in here!" Arthur protested. "It's a  _library_ ."

"We can clean up afterwards. I'll do it, if you'd like."

"Hmph!"

"There are paper towels in the bathroom – we can put them down so we can catch any crumbs or spills."

Arthur relented in the face of such good logic. "All right. Did you put your lunch in the fridge? I'll get them; you get the paper towels."

* * *

Apart from the howling of the wind and the rattle of the shutter and the ticking of the clock, they ate in silence. Arthur really didn't know what to say to Ivan now that they weren't working. Besides talking about their tasks, they never actually spoke about their lives. They never really spoke at all. He felt uncomfortable, especially since Ivan's scent was normal so he knew Ivan was unconcerned.

Finally, Arthur thought of something to say – only he wasn't sure if he should break the silence. Most of their food was gone now. He was picking his way through a supermarket bought fruit salad, glancing at Ivan almost continuously, looking for a moment to speak when Ivan turned to him, bottle of water in hand as he unscrewed the top.

"Are you okay?" he asked, an eyebrow raised as he took a great gulp of his drink.

Swallowing his mouthful, Arthur shook his head. "I'm fine. Just... Well, I was wondering why you decided to start working here?"

"Oh, I like books, of course. Isn't that why you're working here?"

"Of course!" Arthur exclaimed, smiling at Ivan. "I  _love_ books."

"Which are your favourites?"

"Fantasy," Arthur immediately replied. "I like..." He shyly glanced at Ivan and shrugged when he noticed him watching. "I like magic. So I like all sorts of books with magic at its core. Like Harry Potter, obviously. Lord of the Rings is good. Oh! And I like mystery novels, where I can try to work out who's the true culprit. The Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie books are ones I love. And books which combine magic and mystery. Have you ever heard of the Dresden Files?"

"Yes," Ivan said. "I have a friend who's read them. He talks about it quite a bit, though he prefers comic books."

Arthur wrinkled his nose. "Hm. Well, I like them. And Rivers of London and there's this one called the Shadow Police. And..." He winced. "This list is getting rather long."

"That's all right," said Ivan, kindly.

"It'll only get longer. What sorts of books do _you_ like to read?"

Ivan hummed as he thought about it, swirling the water around in his bottle. "War and Peace. Crime and Punishment. Oblomov. Anna Karenina. The Night Watch series."

"Really?"

Nodding, Ivan smiled. "Yes. My parents are Russian. I like to read books written by Russian authors, usually _in_ Russian if I can find them."

"To feel closer to your heritage?"

"Yes. But I also like Harry Potter and books by Stephen King."

"So you're into horror."

"Yes. Is that something you like?"

"Well, it's interesting. I read the odd book in that genre but I-"

And, at that precise moment, as Arthur was thinking of the few books that had given him nightmares upon reading, the lights went out. He froze, staring wide-eyed into the darkness. For a split second, Arthur felt fear course through him before he realised what had happened. He took a deep breath, suddenly aware that he had stopped breathing. Scolding himself for being so silly, he looked up and, sure enough, the back-up generator kicked in and the emergency lights came on. They bathed the room in a pale light, glinting silver in Ivan's hair.

"Ah," said Ivan. "That is not good."

"No..." said Arthur, slowly. "We should probably go home – if the storm's over."

"I'll go check. Do you know if there are any torches?"

"There are a couple in the top left drawer in the front desk."

"Then I'll be right back."

"Ivan," said Arthur hesitantly, still feeling a little uneasy. He didn't look at his colleague, though, keeping his eyes on the remnants of their meal. "Don't be too long."

His response was spoken in a fond tone. "I'll be back with you as soon as possible."

And Arthur was left alone with nothing to do. To keep his mind off being alone in a massive library that just about anyone could be hiding in with the lights down and a storm howling outside- Arthur shuddered as he began to tidy up, bringing a small plastic binbag over to the table to scoop everything into. Once he was finished, only their drinks remained and he took a quick swig as he pondered on what to do next.

A few minutes later, he was beginning to worry. Ivan hadn't returned. The entire place was silent. He could still hear the wind and the rattling and the ticking but nothing else made any sounds. It was quieter than normal – no-one was walking around with books or typing on the computers or coughing or sneezing. The tinsel which had been strung up snaked down and seemed to dance in the strange lighting. Arthur half expected them to suddenly drop and tangle around his neck.

Taking a breath, he scolded himself again. There was no way this situation was about to descend into some sort of horror movie. Ivan would turn up again. He was probably having difficulty seeing out of a window – some of them were frosted or had stained glass in some sort of attempt at being fancy and limiting distractions for the students.

Hearing footsteps, Arthur quickly twisted in his chair and let loose a heavy breath of relief. Ivan was striding towards him, coat draped over one arm, a book in one hand and a lit torch in the other. He smiled when he saw Arthur, seemingly happy to see him. Arthur blinked at that thought and sniffed as surreptitiously as possible. Ivan's scent was the same as normal and Arthur couldn't tell if he was any happier.

"Well?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The storm has gotten worse. There are drifts of snow several feet deep."

Arthur grimaced. "Damn. So we're going to have to stay here for the night?"

"It does look like it," Ivan confirmed as he reached Arthur. He stopped behind Arthur's chair and shook out his coat. Arthur frowned at it and was about to question him when Ivan flung it around Arthur's shoulders. Ivan's scent wrapped around him but the material was cold to the touch, having been kept in the cold staff room. "To keep you warm," Ivan said by way of explanation.

"Wha-? Ivan. Don't you need this?"

"I'll be fine," Ivan said, smiling at Arthur. He waved the hand holding the book as he sat down beside Arthur once more. "I thought I could read to you."

Arthur tilted his head. "Oh?"

"I brought the first Harry Potter book."

Sure enough, the book was a paperback copy of the Philosopher's Stone. Arthur smiled up at Ivan, bemused. "Really? I would have thought you'd introduce me to the wonders of Crime and Punishment."

"Maybe another time."

Shivering (only partly due to the cold), Arthur nodded. "Okay. I suppose we have nothing else to do."

Ivan's brow suddenly furrowed and he put the book on the table. "Are you all right? You look cold..."

"Your coat isn't exactly a furnace, obviously. It's been in that cold staff room, hasn't it? I'll warm up soon," Arthur assured him.

Still frowning, Ivan shook his head. "Come here," he said and, without warning, he reached out, grabbed the seat of Arthur's chair and pulled the whole thing towards him so that they were pressed against each other. Before Arthur could protest, Ivan's arm wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him even closer.

His scent was milder, more soothing. All the stronger points had suddenly dulled down until it made Arthur feel at ease, at home. He felt as if it was perfectly fine to let Ivan look after him, something he'd never thought about anyone before. Still, Arthur hesitated: he had never been intimate with an alpha before. He was hardly intimate at all. Usually, he would reject this situation completely and he had no idea what the proper way to react should be. But there was something intriguing – not intimidating – about Ivan. Arthur had been enjoying their previous conversation and wanted to have longer ones with him. He wanted to hear Ivan reading aloud.

So Arthur let his head fall onto Ivan's shoulder, curling his body towards him so that he felt warmer.

Clearly, Ivan was happy as he squeezed Arthur's shoulder lightly, just once. Then he used one hand to awkwardly open the book. He began to read, his voice soft and rather melodic. Arthur smiled as he listened to it.

Content, Arthur let his eyes drift close and let go of his worries regarding the storm, glad he had accepted the holiday shifts.


End file.
